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Home › News & Articles › Reports › Jan and Joke Kaman (Wormerveer, NL) are the proud owners of one of the best one day long distance teams in The Netherlands

Jan and Joke Kaman (Wormerveer, NL) are the proud owners of one of the best one day long distance teams in The Netherlands

Jan and Joke Kaman continue to be one of Holland's leading names in the one day long distance at national level this season. They claim several overall top results, early arrivals and numerous ace pigeons, in what was proving to be a particularly demanding season, with hot weather and more often than not a northerly wind.

The 68 year old Jan Kaman got involved in pigeon racing already at the age of 10 but not in the way most of his colleagues got in touch with the sport. He used to catch pigeons with his brother on the premises of a flour mill in Wormerveer, which they then gave to their neighbour for a small fee. But it did draw him into the sport. When Jan's parents were on holidays, he built himself a small pigeon loft with the help of his grandparents, and he kept his best two birds for himself. When his parents returned home from vacation, they wanted to get rid of the loft right away but Jan's grandparents convinced them to build a proper pigeon loft instead. That was the start of his career. Several decades have gone by, and today Jan and his wife Joke (66) are running a fantastic loft of about 10 metres long, where they enjoy their hobby together. Besides running a pigeon loft, they are also enjoying their grandchildren and their faithful dog Buddy.

Major successes based on the Janssen Brothers (Arendonk, BE)

Jan got serious about pigeon racing as of 1980, and he decided to get pigeons from the Janssen brothers. He was looking to create a breed that could deliver across all distances, and his birds had to be good-looking as well. He purchased pigeons from the best Janssen lofts in North Holland, namely Jan Loots and Leen Klopman - they had 17 direct pigeons from the fanciers from Arendonk at the time. He also introduced Janssen birds from Henk van Boxtel (Kaatsheuvel, NL) and from Rinus Vink, while also getting pigeons from A. de Bruyn from Reusel. Some additional reinforcements were obtained from Gerard Koopman and Hoppe through Piet Koper, and some more recent investments include R. Faber (from the line of Black Rolex), Anton Ruitenberg (from the line of Wondere Dirk), and lastly Dave van Zon (from Goede Blauwe Koppel and Erik).

The pairing of Joke x Messie has bred quite some talented birds for team Kaman as well; the best example is Josje, breeder of numerous talented birds for Jan. Click here for some of the team's most important descendants. This combination of renowned fanciers, paired upto a solid Janssen foundation, has given quite a few super class birds, first prize winners and teletext winners over the years. It would be almost impossible to go through every important stock breeder in this loft, so we pick a few birds that have really had a big impact on this team:

NL90-2256086 "De Stamvader" : He is a grandson of former champion Kruisdijk of Jan Loots.
He had a successful racing career with for instance a 1st Etampes
of 9,511 p. (and the fastest of 22,186 p.) and he developed into
an invaluable breeder soon after.
NL99-5949561 "De Sterke 561" : This pure Janssen cock is a grandson of the aforementioned stock sire.
He won a 1st Chateauroux (3,289 p.), a 3rd La Ferte (1,591 p.)
a 4th La Ferte (1,854 p.), 5th Orleans (2,847 p.) and a 5th Tours (1,194 p.).
NL05-1239910 "Koper Lady" : This hen was obtained by Jan, which he got through a gifted vouher
of Piet Koper, and it was a life-changing investment.
She developed into an invaluable hen in the further development
of this loft. She was the Best Hen in the national WHZB competition
in 2016. Eijerkamp asked for Koper Lady to be moved to Zutphen,
where she was used for a joint breeding with Ché, De Euro and
V Power. These bred some very successful descendants.
NL07-5713890 "De Jonge Sterke: This fantastic racing bird won an impressive 18 prizes in 18 races
bevore developing into a great breeder. His sire is "De Sterke 561".
NL05-1246083 "Joke" : Joke has grown to become the most important pigeon in this loft.
She has bred numerous talented descendants, including the
aforementioned "Jonge Sterke". She has a proven record as a racing hen
as well, with a 2nd NPO Tours(4,112 p.), a 6th NPO Bourges (8,328 p.),
and a 7th NPO Blois (1,116 p.) to her name.

Top class breeding bird Joke

Despite having won the title of "Best Fancier in The Netherlands" in the Vredesduif competition already in 1987, Jan and Joke were increasingly aiming towards the one day long distance competition, in which they have been one of the leading teams in The Netherlands for years now. They had for instance the Best One Day Long Distance Pigeon in The Netherlands (3 prizes) in 2017 with Joy Boy in the PIPA Ranking - click here to read all about it. Another notable result was their 1st and 2nd place in the National Fondspiegel Competition (2008-2009-2010) with Jonge Sterke and De Peter.

The 2018 season was another great success, with an impressive 69 top 100 prizes national/NPO (and 45 top 100 prizes national/NPO last year). Here is a look at their top 10 prizes of 2018:

Needless to say, this list of achievements led to quite a few championship titles again this season. Click here for all the championship titles of 2018. The pigeon championships in the one day long distance and the middle distance really speak to the imagination:

NL16-1408436 De Wondere Anton

The number one star of last season in the long distance is Wondere Anton. He won the following ace pigeon titles this year:

3rd Best One Day Long Distance Pigeon WHZB-TBOTB 2018 in The Netherlands
2nd pigeon champion one day long distance District 4 Prov 6 2018
2nd Provincial pigeon champion one day long distance Prov 6 2018
2nd Pigeon champion one day long distance Prov 6 District 4 ZCC 2018
2nd pigeon champion one day long distance Fondclub NH 2018

His best results in the one day long distance in 2017 and 2018, as listed below, make him a serious candidate for the Olympiad long distance:

The sire of Wondere Anton is a grandson of the world famous Kleine Dirk of Gerard Koopman (Ermerveen, NL). He is related to Jan's most valued stock breeders from his mother's side: Joke and De Sterk. Click here for the full pedigree.

NL17-1150701 Mooie Jan

Mooie Jan showed his potential in the one day long distance already at the age of one, winning four top prizes:

7th Best one day long distance pigeon WHZB-TBOTB in The Netherlands 2018
3rd pigeon champion one day long distance District 4 Province 6 2018
6th pigeon champion one day long distance Fondclub NH 2018
3rd pigeon champion one day long distance Prov 6 District 4 ZCC 2018

NL16-1408373 Zoon Jonge Beer

Zoon Jonge Beer is another good example of a very successful crossing recently. The grandfather of this bird is top breeder De Beer, himself winner of a 3rd National Chateauroux. The bloodline of Joke (1st Ace Pigeon Prov. 6), De Sterke and a son of Blauwe Koppel (Dave van Zon) can be found in his pedigree as well. Click here for his full pedigree. He wins the following prizes in District 4 South in Province 6:

5th pigeon champion one day long distance District 4 Province 6
13th pigeon champion one day long distance Fondclub NH
5th pigeon champion one day long distance Prov 6 District 4 ZCC

NL16-1408396 Lei

The last ace pigeon in this list of one day long distance stars that we take a closer at is Lei. This super class bird won a 1st NPO Chateauroux against no less than 2,217 pigeons. In addition, he wins a 3rd Argenton (2,853 p.), an 11th Gien (8,513 p.) and a 10th Pt. St. Maxence (7,490 p.). He was also 6th pigeon champion one day long distance in District 4 of Province 6 this season. The pedigree of this NPO winner shows him being related to Peter (2nd Ace Pigeon National One Day Long Distance Fondspiegel 2008-2010), super class breeder De Jonge Sterke, as well as Joke. Click here for Lei's full pedigree.

NL17-1150553 De Willy

This team has had quite a bit of success in the one day long distance indeed, but allround racing bird De Willy not only excelled in the one day long distance. He was in fact even more successful in the middle distance, winning the following top prizes and championship titles:

The sire of De Willy is a full brother of the fantastic Joke. The dam is a 100% Heremans-Ceusters (through Wil Brouwers), and he is related to Rossi, Spinneke and Olympiade. Click here for De Willy's pedigree.

One day long distance champions

Both Jan and Joke are really enjoying their pigeons, which makes this a genuine combination. They look after the pigeons together, with Joke taking care of the young birds. On race days, and especially for one day long distance races, there are often plenty of spectators, who join Jan and Joke awaiting the pigeons. Jan and Joke deliberately opted to focus on the one day long distance, and it actually turned them into one of the leading teams in The Netherlands in this discipline. They have been getting head-turning results season after season, and their highly successful career can be attributed to a combination of hard work and a fantastic collection of birds. Jan is fully committed to his pigeon racing career. We would like to end this report with a quote from Jan that clearly shows his dedication: "As the end of the season approaches, you really have to be fed up with the game. If not, you have not really done your best!"